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“Sure.” I slide off the stool and fix the skirt of my sundress. It’s not inappropriately short but when Adam looks at me, I feel like maybe I’m being too showy. Too flashy. Too something. He waits on me, then holds the door to the boutique open. This means when I pass by him, he’s close. He smells like the soil from the pots, the flowers, and just him. It’s intoxicating.
When we get outside, the heat is automatically pressing down on me, the humidity like a hot blanket. The boardwalk is empty except for a few early birds going to the breakfast destinations. It’s still too early for the tourist season, which I’m aiming to open before then. It had taken forever to secure the building, the funding, and get it open. My brother had actually introduced me to Adam, a friend of a friend of his.
The sign is white with rose gold lettering. It’s centered above the door and looks amazing. The riser is on the left, full of blooming flowers and the pots of varying heights is arranged to the right with a white bench. With the window displays up, my dream is coming together.
I sigh, completely satisfied with the way it looks. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Adam shifts beside me. “It was your design.”
“But you brought it to life. I couldn’t have done it without you.” I glance at him. The sun glints off the blonde of his hair like a Disney prince. He really is too gorgeous to look at.
“You’re welcome, then.”
A man of many words, Adam is. I want to study him, find out what he really thinks behind the quiet handyman vibe. Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s interested in me that way. Which is why I need to go back inside and focus on my work. Because I like to ignore my good sense, I stand there a minute longer, waiting on him to say something else. And because I can’t help myself, I ask, “Do you think the rose gold is too much?”
I expect him to ignore my question or to at least give me a passing answer, but he steps back and looks at the storefront as a whole.
“No.” He looks down at me, his gaze roaming my face before he looks back at the sign. “I think it suits you.”
Now that’s a sentence I want to unpack. The need to know what he means by that sinks underneath my skin. Does he think it’s high maintenance and therefore thinks I am? Or does he think it’s classy? Or girlie? Or maybe this is all ridiculous and I need to go back inside. All I can do is thank him quietly before going back to the reception desk and looking over future orders.
When I look up a few minutes later, I catch him staring at me.
Chapter Two
The bar has been our favorite hangout since we turned twenty-one, so my friends and brother are close with the owner and the staff. Even though the place is packed, our booth is waiting, chips and salsa already there. Lila’s fiancé, Sam, slides in first, followed by Lila. I sit on the other side of her and my brother and his wife, Nat, slide in opposite. The waitress comes by and orders our drinks and food and we fall into the easy conversation of people who’ve know each other our entire lives. Others have come and gone, exes and fair weather friends, but these people have always been here.
“I saw the outside of the boutique. It looks amazing,” Nat says as she dips a chip in her bowl of salsa.
“I know,” I try really hard to keep the squeal out of my voice but I fail, “I can’t wait to open. It feels like it’s been forever since I started this journey.”
“Adam, you made it.” My brother stands from the booth.
I try not to freeze like a deer in headlights and give Lila a side glance, which is a mistake. She’s grinning and staring over my shoulder. Slowly I turn, my gaze landing on Adam’s waist. My cheeks burn as I snap my gaze up to his face. He’s talking to Brett, not even looking at me, but my entire body flushes. It’s early menopause. It has to be. Lila shoulder bumps me and I grab my drink, taking a long sip out of the straw.
“How’s it going?” Adam responds to Brett. I peek at him and almost wish I hadn’t. He’s wearing dark jeans, a navy blue henley, and his hair is still damp from a shower.
“Good, good.” Brett waves next to me. “Have a seat. What do you want to drink?” He signals the waiter, oblivious to the fact that I’m having an inner panic attack.
I’ve never been in a social situation with Adam. Our conversations are all about the boutique and I don’t know if I’m capable of saying anything else. I keep staring at my drink as Adam hesitates when he notices me. I’m still wearing my sundress from earlier today and if I’d known Brett invited Adam I could’ve changed. Adam finally sits next to me and because of the size of the booth, his thigh presses against mine.
“Adam, I’m Lila.” Lila leans behind me and and grins between us. “I’m Georgia’s best friend.”
“Nice to meet you.” Adam’s gaze meets mine before darting away. “I’ll get a beer,” he responds to Brett.
The conversation starts back up around us, Brett and Nat talking to Lila and Sam about the bridal celebration, which is in two weeks. Being the only single one in the group can be aggravating, even when I am more than happy for my best friend and my brother for finding their true loves.
“Georgia, are you bringing a date?” Nat is oblivious to the chaos ricocheting through me.
I flush, the heat traveling from chest to the tips of my ears. “Um, no. I don’t.” My palms are sweaty so I rub them down the skirt of my dress to try and dry them.
“Adam doesn’t have a date, either,” Lila jumps in, sending me a look.
All I want is to disappear in that moment, for this hot flash to engulf me in flames. Anything to stop the humiliating conversation in its tracks.
Brett looks between the two of us, landing longer on me. If he thinks something is going on between the two of us, he’s clearly caught in his own love-story and trying to push one on me and his best friend. Adam’s beer arrives and I distinctly do not watch him drink it. I glare at Lila, knowing she will see the threat of retribution in my gaze. She has the audacity to wink at me over her wine glass. “It would fix the seating arrangement issue we were having, Nat.”
As far as I know, there isn’t a seating arrangement issue. It takes me too long to see what’s going on. They’re setting us up. They’re doing this on purpose. That’s why they invited both of us to the bar tonight. Taking the risk, I glance at Adam out of the corner of my eye. He’s still, watching my brother and Nat and Lila, no hint of what he’s thinking on his face. This is the Adam I’m familiar with, the one I can’t ever decipher no matter how hard I try.
